The big underground powerhouse cavern of the China Baihetan hydropower plant is 438m long,34m wide,and 88.7m high.It is cut by a weak interlayer shear zone and its high sidewall poses a huge stability problem.This pap...The big underground powerhouse cavern of the China Baihetan hydropower plant is 438m long,34m wide,and 88.7m high.It is cut by a weak interlayer shear zone and its high sidewall poses a huge stability problem.This paper reports our successful solution of this problem through numerical simulations and a replacement-tunnel scheme in the detailed design stage and close site monitoring in the excavation stage.Particularly,in the detail design stage,mechanical parameters of the shear zone were carefully determined through laboratory experiments and site tests.Then,deformation of the surrounding rocks and the shear zone under high in situ stress conditions was predicted using 3 Dimensional Distinct Element Code(3DEC).Subsequently,a replacement-tunnel scheme was proposed for the treatment on the shear zone to prevent severe unloading relaxation of surrounding rocks.In the construction period,excavation responses were closely monitored on deformations of surrounding rocks and the shear zone.The effect of local cracking in the replacement tunnels on sidewall stability was evaluated using the strength reduction method.These monitoring results were compared with the predicted numerical simulation in the detailed design stage.It is found that the shear zone greatly modified the deformation mode of the cavern surrounding rocks.Without any treatment,rock mass deformation on the downstream sidewall was larger than 125mm and the shearing deformation of the shear zone was 60–70 mm.These preset replacement tunnels can reduce not only the unloading and relaxation of rock masses but also the maximum shearing deformation of the shear zone by 10–20 mm.The predictions by numerical simulation were in good agreement with the monitoring results.The proposed tunnel-replacement scheme can not only restrain the shear zone deformation but also enhance the safety of surrounding rocks and concrete tunnels.This design procedure offers a good reference for interaction between a big underground cavern and a weak layer zone in the future.展开更多
The shear behavior of large-scale weak intercalation shear zones(WISZs)often governs the stability of foundations,rock slopes,and underground structures.However,due to their wide distribution,undulating morphology,com...The shear behavior of large-scale weak intercalation shear zones(WISZs)often governs the stability of foundations,rock slopes,and underground structures.However,due to their wide distribution,undulating morphology,complex fabrics,and varying degrees of contact states,characterizing the shear behavior of natural and complex large-scale WISZs precisely is challenging.This study proposes an analytical method to address this issue,based on geological fieldwork and relevant experimental results.The analytical method utilizes the random field theory and Kriging interpolation technique to simplify the spatial uncertainties of the structural and fabric features for WISZs into the spatial correlation and variability of their mechanical parameters.The Kriging conditional random field of the friction angle of WISZs is embedded in the discrete element software 3DEC,enabling activation analysis of WISZ C2 in the underground caverns of the Baihetan hydropower station.The results indicate that the activation scope of WISZ C2 induced by the excavation of underground caverns is approximately 0.5e1 times the main powerhouse span,showing local activation.Furthermore,the overall safety factor of WISZ C2 follows a normal distribution with an average value of 3.697.展开更多
Rock masses are often exposed to dynamic loads such as earthquakes and mechanical disturbances in practical engineering scenarios.The existence of underground caverns and weak geological structures like columnar joint...Rock masses are often exposed to dynamic loads such as earthquakes and mechanical disturbances in practical engineering scenarios.The existence of underground caverns and weak geological structures like columnar jointed rock masses(CJRMs)and interlayer shear weakness zones(ISWZs)with inferior mechanical properties,significantly undermines the overall structural stability.To tackle the dynamic loading issues in the process of constructing subterranean caverns,a programmable modeling approach was utilized to reconstruct a large-scale underground cavern model incorporating ISWZs and columnar joints(CJs).By conducting dynamic simulations with varying load orientations,the analyses focused on the failure patterns,deformation characteristics,and acoustic emission activity within the caverns.Results revealed that the failure modes of the underground caverns under dynamic loading were predominantly tensile failures.Under X-direction loading,the failed elements were mainly distributed parallel to the CJs,while under Y-direction loading,they were distributed parallel to the transverse weak structural planes.Furthermore,the dynamic stability of the overall structure varied with the number of caverns.The dual-cavern model demonstrated the highest stability under X-direction loading,while the single-cavern model was the least stable.Under Y-direction loading,the cavern stability increased with the number of caverns.Importantly,different weak structures affected the dynamic response of caverns in different ways;the CJRMs were the primary contributors to structural failure,while ISWZs could mitigate the rock mass failure induced by CJs.The findings could offer valuable insights for the dynamic stability analysis of caverns containing CJRMs and ISWZs.展开更多
基金Program of China Three Gorges Corporation,Grant/Award Number:BHT 0679-1。
文摘The big underground powerhouse cavern of the China Baihetan hydropower plant is 438m long,34m wide,and 88.7m high.It is cut by a weak interlayer shear zone and its high sidewall poses a huge stability problem.This paper reports our successful solution of this problem through numerical simulations and a replacement-tunnel scheme in the detailed design stage and close site monitoring in the excavation stage.Particularly,in the detail design stage,mechanical parameters of the shear zone were carefully determined through laboratory experiments and site tests.Then,deformation of the surrounding rocks and the shear zone under high in situ stress conditions was predicted using 3 Dimensional Distinct Element Code(3DEC).Subsequently,a replacement-tunnel scheme was proposed for the treatment on the shear zone to prevent severe unloading relaxation of surrounding rocks.In the construction period,excavation responses were closely monitored on deformations of surrounding rocks and the shear zone.The effect of local cracking in the replacement tunnels on sidewall stability was evaluated using the strength reduction method.These monitoring results were compared with the predicted numerical simulation in the detailed design stage.It is found that the shear zone greatly modified the deformation mode of the cavern surrounding rocks.Without any treatment,rock mass deformation on the downstream sidewall was larger than 125mm and the shearing deformation of the shear zone was 60–70 mm.These preset replacement tunnels can reduce not only the unloading and relaxation of rock masses but also the maximum shearing deformation of the shear zone by 10–20 mm.The predictions by numerical simulation were in good agreement with the monitoring results.The proposed tunnel-replacement scheme can not only restrain the shear zone deformation but also enhance the safety of surrounding rocks and concrete tunnels.This design procedure offers a good reference for interaction between a big underground cavern and a weak layer zone in the future.
基金support from the Key Projects of the Yalong River Joint Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.U1865203)the Innovation Team of Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute(Grant Nos.CKSF2021715/YT and CKSF2023305/YT)。
文摘The shear behavior of large-scale weak intercalation shear zones(WISZs)often governs the stability of foundations,rock slopes,and underground structures.However,due to their wide distribution,undulating morphology,complex fabrics,and varying degrees of contact states,characterizing the shear behavior of natural and complex large-scale WISZs precisely is challenging.This study proposes an analytical method to address this issue,based on geological fieldwork and relevant experimental results.The analytical method utilizes the random field theory and Kriging interpolation technique to simplify the spatial uncertainties of the structural and fabric features for WISZs into the spatial correlation and variability of their mechanical parameters.The Kriging conditional random field of the friction angle of WISZs is embedded in the discrete element software 3DEC,enabling activation analysis of WISZ C2 in the underground caverns of the Baihetan hydropower station.The results indicate that the activation scope of WISZ C2 induced by the excavation of underground caverns is approximately 0.5e1 times the main powerhouse span,showing local activation.Furthermore,the overall safety factor of WISZ C2 follows a normal distribution with an average value of 3.697.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.42077251,41807269,and U1865203).
文摘Rock masses are often exposed to dynamic loads such as earthquakes and mechanical disturbances in practical engineering scenarios.The existence of underground caverns and weak geological structures like columnar jointed rock masses(CJRMs)and interlayer shear weakness zones(ISWZs)with inferior mechanical properties,significantly undermines the overall structural stability.To tackle the dynamic loading issues in the process of constructing subterranean caverns,a programmable modeling approach was utilized to reconstruct a large-scale underground cavern model incorporating ISWZs and columnar joints(CJs).By conducting dynamic simulations with varying load orientations,the analyses focused on the failure patterns,deformation characteristics,and acoustic emission activity within the caverns.Results revealed that the failure modes of the underground caverns under dynamic loading were predominantly tensile failures.Under X-direction loading,the failed elements were mainly distributed parallel to the CJs,while under Y-direction loading,they were distributed parallel to the transverse weak structural planes.Furthermore,the dynamic stability of the overall structure varied with the number of caverns.The dual-cavern model demonstrated the highest stability under X-direction loading,while the single-cavern model was the least stable.Under Y-direction loading,the cavern stability increased with the number of caverns.Importantly,different weak structures affected the dynamic response of caverns in different ways;the CJRMs were the primary contributors to structural failure,while ISWZs could mitigate the rock mass failure induced by CJs.The findings could offer valuable insights for the dynamic stability analysis of caverns containing CJRMs and ISWZs.
